Apparatus for manufacturing wallboard joint tape



March 16, 1954 Filed May 1 1950 L. C. REED APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING WALLBOARD JOINT TAPE 3 Sheets-Sheet'l INVENTOR.

'nT oPMEx March 16, 1954 c. REED 2,671,990

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING WALLBOARD JOINT TAPE Filed May 1, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. A, o u C. P550 BY dad-45;

HTTOPNE).

March 16, 1954 1 c, REED 2,671,990

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING WALLBOARD JOINT TAPE Filed May 1 1950 3 SheetsSheet 5 INVENTOR. 5 Lou 6. P560 I&\\\\ m; BY Z HTTORNEY- Patented Mar. 16, 1954 UNITE-D PATENT OFF assume P A A IJSFQK QG URW WALILBOARD JOINT.- TAPE Ct Reed; West Hartford, Conn., assignor t6? Thai Maman; Germination, Hartforcb Conn & enrporation: of. Connecticut Appiieatihuliiey 1950, serial No. 15%,1'6'5" 9 Claims. (01. 51-75:);

ihventien relates te apharatus' fir I rI'aEm'I' teetering wall hoardj oiht tape and "mor arti'eularly to an aprfarafius" for bevell-ing orflfeath erin'g the" edg'eportions of tape such asofi or't'he like;

Such tapes are em'inen ly usedto cover the jei-nts oi wall wards and they are iii-'efei abl'y bevelled, 0rfeathered, so that they" may beprev-i'ded with thin free edges to more effectively dbscui'e the joint and also 30* preventeraekine 6f; the Wall paintor other Whibhis af 'pl idw over the surface thereof and over the tape fei i cdver ihg t hejoinfi.

It isan object at thepresent invention to pro vifie an apparatus which will bevel, or feather, the longitudinal edge portib 0f such tapes a; highly eflie'ient and e'eenemieal manner;

It isa farther ebj'eet of the invention to pro vide an: apparatus wherein the thickness of the thin free edge produced on the tape may be accurately eentroll'edi A2 'fu rther eb jeet is toprovide an apparatus wherein the tape is positional its nermal eondition during the bevelling operation so as to permit positive control of said- 'operati" regardless of any variation in the characteristics oi the tapemateri n Further objeets arid advantages of this ifive'n tionwill be more clearly understand mm the renewing description a-hd from the ac'eemr samy ing drawing in which:

a Fig. I it; a frontview of a tape hevelfing' a 1=- paratus embodying the presentinve tie Fits: is aplai i view illustrating the amang'emeiit of the gr'iheihgwhee'le'with relatiente the. tat-tie as it is rim threug-H the s'a-i'd* apparatusi Fig: 3 is a s-ide view-0f the appa ratusi- Fig. Me -a planwiew show'hg a piece -ofthe tape which has been b'evel ledin the said? apparatus Fig; E ie-an end view o'f said ta'spet Fig. 6 is 'a1n enlargezi' firontview, ir-r centrallvew tidal 'sectien; threugh one of the" "grinding Fig; '7' is an end v-iewtl ieredfi partly central verti'ea l sectiom Fig; 13 1's a plan view of the tape stifipertmg shoes and the block on which said. sheet are meuhtedlife: st is a further enlarged View slidwihgathe preferred cofistructi'bn e1 "tape supperting she'es amt 'the pesition'ihg" d'f 'the tape thereby" fer thefirs't bevellifigoperatibm I "ISOFis a similarjview 'shewing the zen-struc tibm 6f the shoes and the pesitibnihgr at tame fer thesecondabevehingraperatiohz- Fig: 11 is: astill enlargediview iliustraii th ezfirstzgafindingi epenaztiun.

Fig; 1-2 aseetibnat view 6f the tape when 111- reversed positien for the see'end bevelline op e-r-atiem Fig; 13' is a sirriilaii view showing a; tape with free edges of a definite thickness.

the embodiment illustrated the drawings,- my' i mptbved afiparaltus preferably comprises a table 5 lipen which is supported a pair of spaced substantially similar bevelliiig} or grinding} unit's iriel dme a fi i'st- 6 am: a sees-ria unit 1 61 bevelhng the apposite side's ofthe tape; Eaeh 'o f these arms, as show chmpri'ses' a vertiealsup" pdrtin' g'frame 8 ha-v g a-ea'irrir 9 thereon whieri is vertieailly adjust'ahleon said frame by means of an adiusting screw [-0 that eherated by a hand wheel H V The said carrier has slidably mounted thei on a he-el plate #2 that is horizontally s'lideible en theeanriei" and adjustable thereon by means of a s rew whieh rotated; by the hand wheel t3;

A table M"- is horizontallysl idabl'e on the plate l-Z- amt adjustable therednl by means of a serew (not shown) which iserierated with the handwheel 611 301 a: supz idflifig bleek Ht ismounted on saidtable and eari ies' a pair oftapesupperting shoes I11 are seeured atone endthere of to said block: 'l he sate shoes extend over a recess re and are edapted' te suisport the: ta e it pes'itien to be centaeted a gtindihgl wheels" It an: ashafi; 24) that i's rotatably mounted the frame 0 arid driven: by a motor 2 through driv ifie belts 22" and 2% A- pair df guide plates; Ef -M a';'i "eseitiui e'd. tethe opposite sides of the block l fi' aifi'd extendwaidly therefrom te provid'e guides for ietaim gthe tape in: positiem upon: the sheee H as itmoved between the said: shoes and the grinding wheels;

illustrated Fig; each er thesh'coes I1 is bevelled downwardly towards the center of the tape and each-of the grihdihg wheels 19 is bevelled) upwardlytowards Sam center, so as to provide the desired ifielude'd angle at bevel on the 0 2ipps'ite lb gitudi'haj-l edge port-ions of the" tape by the grinelihg: eperatib'n p'erferme'd thereon with said wheels as the tape moved thIOlig h the 2215* wte- In bevel lfflg the tape by the operation illus Fig; f, the said" tape; which is indicatedat" 25, is taken fiem ardll, ihdic'ated at 263 that isll'lvzii'infied' at; one side of the apparatus; The tape is assed over' suitable guide roller '27", onthe first grindin Imit and" then assed over the shoes k1 thereof where it: is eb'ntacfied by" the; rapidly rotating grinding. wheels [9 which bevel edge portions on the: tap side? of the; tape as it passes through the said first bevelling unit. The tape then passes over a roller 28 and moves downwardly, around a roller 29, and then horizontally around a roller 3|]. The said tape is then twisted for a half turn so that it is reversed. It then passes over a roller 3| of the second unit and therefrom over the shoes I! of said unit while the side of the tape opposite to that bevelled by the first bevelling unit is now operated upon and bevelled by the grinding wheels of the second unit. The tape then passes over the roll 32 onto a roll of the completed tape which is indicated at 33.

It will be understood from the above description that one side of the tape is bevelled first as it passes through the first bevelling unit and that the tape is then reversed and the opposite side is then bevelled as it passes through the second bevelling unit.

The grinding wheels of the first unit are adjusted with relation to the shoes I! thereof so that only one-half of the amount of grinding is done upon the edge portions of one side of the tape. The other half of the grinding is done upon the opposite side of the tape as it passes through the second bevelling unit. This provides a tape having opposite edge portions which are bevelled from both sides of the tape. If desired, the grinding wheels may be adjusted with relation to the shoes I? so that all of the grinding may be done on one side of the tape as it passes through the first unit, in the position illustrated in Fig. '7, and this will also provide a thin free edge along the opposite sides of the tape but said tape will be bevelled only on one side.

The tape may be moved through the apparatus either by rotating the completed roll 33 by suitable means (not shown), or by providing a pair of power-driven feed rolls, as indicated at 34, which will pull the tape through the apparatus at a constant rate of speed.

In order to permit a more accurate control of the bevelling operation and to avoid the necessity of distorting the tape as it passes between the grinding Wheels and the shoes,-I may form the shoes for the first and second bevelling units as indicated respectively in Figs. 9 and 10. In these figures, the first grinding unit is porvided with shoes l'l-a having supporting surfaces which are perfectly straight so that the straight unbevelled side at the bottom of the tape will be supported in its normal form and without distortion. The grinding wheels lS-a of said first unit are bevelled for the amount of bevel desired upon the sides of the tape. Therefore, as the tape passes through the first unit, it is supported by the shoes in a transversely straight position and the edge portions of the upper side thereof are ground to produce a bevel conforming to the bevel of the grinding wheels. The second bevelling unit, which is illustrated in Fig. 10, is provided with the supporting shoes l'l-b which are bevelled upon their upper sides at an angle that conforms with the bevel produced upon the tape by the first bevelling unit. Therefore, when the tape is reversed and enters the second bevelling unit, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the previously bevelled sides thereof will rest upon the bevelled surfaces of the shoes IT-b while the grinding wheels I9-b of the second unit, which are bevelled similarly to the wheels IS-a of the first unit, will bevel the previously opposite side of the tape which is now upon the upper side thereof and thereby produce bevelled edges with an equal amount of taper on the opposite sides of the tape.

The manner in which the first and second bevelling operations are performed by the operation of the tape is clearly illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12 of the drawings.

It will be understood that the thickness of the free edge of the tape may be controlled by adjusting the supporting shoes with respect to the grinding wheels so that a free edge of any desired thickness may be produced.

It has been found that a tape having a bevelled edge portion terminating in a free edge of definite thickness is preferred over a tape with a feathered edge which ends in a sharp and uneven free edge. This is for the reason that, when the feathered edge absorbs the adhesive, or the paint which is applied over the tape, it becomes wrinkled so that it rises in some portions and thereby causes cracks and prevents a clean and invisible joint while a tape with free edges of definite thickness is capable of absorbing moisture from the adhesive or paint without the said edges becoming wrinkled and,

- therefore, permits a smooth application of the paint over the edge and the tape and provides a clean and practically invisible joint.

A tape having such a free edge of definite thickness is illustrated in Fig. 13 of the drawings and it will be noted therefrom that such a tape may be produced by merely adjusting the supporting shoes with relation to the grinding wheels so that less material will be ground from the edge portions of the tape during the grinding operation and thereby provide a free edge of a predetermined thickness. This may be accomplished without altering the angles of the bevel on the grinding wheels and the supporting shoes and by merely spacing the surfaces of the shoes from the surfaces of the grinding wheels so that less material wil be ground off the tape and a narrower bevelled edge portion and thicker free edge will result.

It has been found that for conventional paper tapes, which are usually of a thickness approximating .008 inch, a free edge having a thickness of approximately one-half of the thickness of the tape is preferred as this will provide a free edge which is sumciently thin to produce a practically invisible joint and still of sufficient thickness to prevent it from curling or wrinkling.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for bevelling the longitudinal edge portion of tape comprising a grinding wheel having a bevelled grinding surface conforming with the bevel to be formed thereby upon the tape, a stationary shoe having an oppositely bevelled supporting surface adjacent to the wheel for supporting the tape in contact with the wheel during a bevelling operation, means for varying the position of said shoe relatively to the grinding surface to predetermine the degree of thickness of the free edge of the bevelled portion of said tape, and means for moving the tape over said shoe.

2. Apparatus for bevelling the longitudinal edge portion of tape to provide a thin free edge, said apparatus comprising a grinding wheel having a bevelled grinding surface conforming with the bevel to be ground in the tape, a stationary supporting shoe having a surface adjacent to and disposed at an angle to the said bevelled grinding surface for supporting a tape with the edge portion thereof in contact with said grinding surface, guide means at opposite sides of said shoe for guiding the tape thereover, and means for moving the tape over said shoe.

3. Apparatus for bevelling the opposed edge portions of tape to provide relatively thin free edges, said apparatus comprising a, pair of grinding wheels having oppositely bevelled grinding surfaces conforming to the bevels to be ground at the opposite sides of the tape, a pair of spaced shoes for supporting said tape with the opposite side portions thereof in contact with said grinding surfaces, guide means adjacent each shoe for guiding the tape over said shoes and relatively to the grinding surfaces during the movement of the tape through said apparatus, means for varying the distance between the shoes and the grinding surfaces to vary the thicknesses of the free edges of the bevelled portions of the tape, and means for moving the tape over said shoes.

4. Apparatus for bevelling the opposite longitudinal edge portions of tape to provide relatively thin free edges on said tape, the said apparatus comprising a pair of grinding wheels having spaced grinding surfaces oppositely bevelled to conform with the bevels to be ground thereby in the tape, a stationary supporting shoe adjacent to each of said grinding surfaces and having a supporting surface disposed at an angle to the grinding surface and conforming to the degree of bevel to be ground in the tape for supporting the said tape in contact with the grinding surface, guide means adjacent each of said shoes for guiding said tape over said shoes during the movement of the tape through the apparatus, and means for varying the distance between the shoes and the grinding surfaces for controlling the thicknesses of the free edges of the bevelled portions of the tape.

5. Apparatus for bevelling the longitudinal edge portions of tape comprising a pair of grinding wheels having spaced oppositely bevelled grinding surfaces, a supporting shoe adjacent to each of said grinding surfaces for supporting the edge portions of a tape in contact with said grinding surfaces and in a position wherein the free edges of the tape are overlapped by the grinding surfaces, guide plates adjacent to the opposite outer sides of the shoes for guiding the tape thereon, means for adjusting the shoes relatively to the grinding surfaces for controlling the degree of thickness of the free edges of the bevelled portions of the tape, and means for moving the tape through said apparatus.

6. Apparatus for bevelling the opposite longitudinal edge portions of a tape to provide relatively thin free edges on said tape; said apparatus comprising a first grinding unit including spaced grinding wheels having peripheral grinding surfaces bevelled in opposite directions, a supporting block adjacent to said wheels, a pair of spaced shoes on said block supported thereby adjacent to said grinding surfaces to support the edge portions of the tape in contact with the grinding surfaces for bevelling operations upon one side of the tape, and a second grinding unit similar to the first grinding unit but having supporting shoes with bevelled surfaces conforming to the previously formed bevelled surface on one side of the tape and supporting the tape in normal condition with the reverse side thereof in contact with the grinding surfaces for bevelling operations upon the reverse side of the tape.

7. Apparatus for bevelling longitudinal edge portions. of tape to provide relatively thin free edges on said tape, the said apparatus including a first grinding unit comprising a pair of spaced grinding wheels having oppositely bevelled peripheral grinding surfaces conforming to the bevels to be ground thereby in the tape, a, supporting shoe extending under each of said wheels inside of the outer edge thereof; each of said shoes having a straight surface for engaging the straight unbevelled surface on one side of the tape and supporting the tape in engagement with said grinding surfaces for bevelling the opposite edges thereof, and a second grinding unit spaced from the first unit for bevelling the edges of said straight side of the tape, the said second grinding unit including a spaced pair of grinding wheels similar to the grinding wheels of the first unit and a shoe adjacent to each of said wheels having an angled supporting surface conforming to the bevel formed in the tape by the first unit for engaging the said bevelled surface and supporting the tape in contact with the said grinding surfaces for a bevelling operation upon the straight side of the tape.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 7 including means between the first and second grinding units for reversing the tape before it enters the second unit.

9. Apparatus for bevelling the opposite 1ongitudinal edge portions of paper tape to provide relatively thin free edges on said tape, the said apparatus comprising a, bevelling unit including a pair of spaced grinding wheels having oppositely bevelled peripheral grinding surfaces, a supporting block positioned adjacent to said wheels, a pair of spaced supporting shoes mounted on said block and supported thereby relatively to said grinding surfaces and inside of the outer edges thereof, a pair of spaced guide plates mounted on said block and abutting the outer sides of the supporting shoes to position the tape upon said shoes with the edge portions of the tape entirely supported by said shoes and the grinding surfaces overlapping the free edges of said portions, means for adjusting said block to vary the distance between the shoes and the grinding surfaces for predetermining the thicknesses of the free edges of the tapered portions, a separate bevelling unit for similarly bevelling the reverse side of the tape, and means for moving the tape through said bevelling units.

LOU C. REED.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 328,125 Logan Oct. 13, 1885 396,553 Fowle Jan. 22, 1889 1,357,350 Schumacher Nov. 2, 1920 1,634,997 Jones July 5, 1927 2,164,959 Steiner July 4, 1939 2,180,433 Page et a1 Nov. 21, 1939 2,252,818 Somes et a1 Aug. 19, 1941 2,479,095 Boyer Aug. 16, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 118,724 France May 28, 1877 

